Oh the Glory
by Shankou
Summary: Young Salanalay has been born and fallen victem to Alana. Raised by her and her two most favored lovers, Salanalay grows to hate dragons.
1. Salanalay: 22 January,Tenth Pass,Turn 29

The powerful wails of a brand new child reached the neighboring weyrs' ears, and soon the entire Weyr was congregated in the small weyr that Alana called home. She and S'ban nodded politely to each visitor, and waited patiently for them to leave. "He's lovely, Alana." "Congratulations, S'ban!" "You wanted that baby pretty badly, eh? No _Between_ for nine months, I couldn't do it!"

_Neither could I,_ Alana thought sourly, pinching the baby's elbow sharply when he suckled too strongly. At long last, each person left, and the Archivist came in.

"So what shall you name him, greenrider?" Viren asked, jiggling the baby almost paternally.

"Sabanel," S'ban said almost automatically, but Alana cut him off.

"No, his name will be Salanalay. If he survives to see a dragon, his name will not be S'nel. That was the name of my most repulsive brother," Alana said with a glare. S'ban shrugged and the Archivist wrote it into the baby records. The Healer he had with him, Ysara, took some measurements and checked everything over once more. She had birthed him, but people had come so quickly she had needed to wait until the end of the visits.

"Okay, you're done, now go. I want to be with... Salanalay," Alana said dismissively. The Archivist and Healer nodded curtly, and winged down on Ysara's green. "That includes you, Bluerider," she said with a wave of her hand as she placed Salanalay in a make-shift crib.

"Do you need any assistance?" S'ban asked, looking at Salanalay with warm brown eyes. Alana shook her head, and S'ban left for his own weyr. He would never understand that woman.

"Damn child, I never wanted you," Alana was muttering to the crying baby. He was hungry, and Alana was tired. "I tried so many times to rid myself of you, but the dolphins kept saying you were still quite alive. Shells, kid," she said almost affectionately, the baby boy made a small gurgling noise. "You are deffinitely a miracle child. Shaffit!"

_Is something wrong, Mine?_ Avenuth's unintrusive voice came quietly. Alana shook her head.

_Of course not. But you know how many times I tried to get rid of this boy,_ she responded.

_If I could Clutch, I would not try and kill it,_ the green said in a distressed tone.

_Well I am not you, am I?_ Alana asked with a scowl. When the baby started to cry louder, she pinched his elbow again, and threw herself into her bed awkwardly. She was exhausted, and it had been a hard birth. She would never have another child. Ever. She covered her head with pillows, and eventually fell asleep. When she awoke, the boy was still crying.

"SHAFFIT, YOU DIMGLOW! SHUT UP!" she bellowed raggedly on the third day. "What do you WANT from me? I have nothing for you! Why didn't you just disappear like the rest of them?"

"Bad day, Alana?" came S'ban's voice softly in the doorway. Alana leaned into him.

"Oh it's been awful, S'ban, love, handsom dragonman... He won't be quiet! I don't know what's wrong!" Alana said through a sob. S'ban hugged her gently around the waist and looked towards the crib. It smelled awful.

"Have you changed his rags?" S'ban asked, letting her go and prying her hands off of him. He took the baby out, who promptly quieted to half the volume. After changing the defiled diaper, he jiggled the baby about and listened to Alana's problems.

"...and Avenuth won't stop going on about how she would love to have a child! I don't see why! Dragon mothers don't have to deal with this! Oh the screaming! And the smell! I don't want to touch him, much less have it's lips on my... my..."

"Don't worry about it, Alana, love. He will be disciplined to be the best man he can be. He won't be a baby for much longer," S'ban said comfortingly. Alana looked so tired, almost wildeyed. Salanalay was still sleeping contentedly in S'ban's arms. The boy gurgled in his sleep, and S'ban smiled.

"Yes, he'll need discipline... Good discipline, not the wimpy stuff my father gave Sarnel when we were young..."


	2. Galanaven's Birth

**30 December, Tenth Pass, Turn 31**

"Salanalay! Come give Mom a hand!" Alana calls as she cradles her newest born son. An accident, once again. Poor timing, just as she had been grounded for a leg injury, she had gotten pregnant. Again.

"Kay Mom," the tiny toddler mumbled. He was almost three, and had a little brother now. He would be expected to help around a lot more now. "Wutcha wan'?" he asked with a wide yawn, tiny voice loud and clear over the soft sobs of his new brother.

"Go get S'ban," she said simply.

"Howw?" Salanalay asked, eyes wide. He couldn't leave their weyr!

"Oh that's right, you're incompetent," Alana said, rolling her eyes. "Avenuth! Call Terath!" she bellowed. The newborn began to cry. "And the Archivist, and the Healer," she said, dismissing the drudge she had called up.

_I don't see why you didn't call them before. What about Feyrth?_ she asked.

"No, I do not want T'graynn here today," she said, rolling her eyes again. The baby had been out of the womb for hours by the time she had decided to call anyone, and it was showing effect by the utter exhaustion of everyone connected to the birthing. The drudge practically crawled out, and Salanalay slumped on a chair like a miniature S'ban, and Avenuth said without much feeling: _Terath, Mine wants yours to come and see her newest son._

S'ban arrived shortly afterwards.

"The child isn't mine, why did you call me?" S'ban asked, rather weary himself. He had endured a busy morning with his weyrmate, and would rather not deal with Alana.

"Because T'graynn is as incompetent as your son, so you're trading," she said, handing the baby over.

"What?" S'ban managed as the baby nearly dropped. The child started to wail.

"You heard me. Salanalay is T'graynn's child, and Galanaven is your child," she said simply, waddling to the rest room to relieve herself. "Shards I'm still going all the time! Every two hours!" Alana called back.

_She's damned insane, Terath,_ the bluerider said with a polite cough to indicate that Alana had provided more information than he'd like to know. "I need to get back to my Weyrmate, I'll call T'graynn..."

"Oh, no, please don't!" Alana said, running out anxiously and clinging to S'ban.

"Too late, Alana. Don't you understand what a child is? A child is not to be 'traded' for a 'better' one. I don't see why you hate Salanalay so much, but there is nothing I can do but treat him as if he were not mine. The same goes for children who truly are not my own flesh and blood, Alana," S'ban responded sharply. He turned on heel, and returned to F'ren.

_Feyrth comes,_ Avenuth announced happily.

_I am well aware of that, you fool,_ Alana responds sharply. Avenuth sighs from the ledge and curls up, exhausted from Alana's behaviour. She drops Galanaven onto Salanalay's two and 11/12ths turn old lap, and waddles out to meet him.

"Your son is with the other kid," she said off handedly. T'graynn embraced her, but she pulled away. "His name is Galanaven, as if you care," she said. "Salanalay!" she bellows. The kid barely manages to bring the newborn out.

Alana plucked the infant from Salanalay's tired arms and handed him to T'graynn suddenly, who nearly dropped him with surprise. She gestured for Salanalay to leave, and he did, humming absently in his high treble. T'graynn jiggled the baby boy in a worrisom fashion as he watched Salanalay leave.

"Will you ever treat that boy right?" the brownrider asked.

"I treat him better than I should," responded simply. "This boy will be better than that thing. This one isn't so stubborn," she said. "He won't have brain damage from _Between._"


	3. Alana's Lament

**Thank you for the input. It helped me remember that my characters' histories are not common knowledge. )**

"Your legs are too short," Talyrma said yet again. Another gut-wrenching cough passed over her jaundiced form.

"I know, ma'am," Alana said bitingly, wincing at her own voice. "But I am going to Impress a dragon, I will prove myself to you..."

"Your legs are too short for that too," the old runner-woman said raspily. "How will a dragon even see you?"

"She'll see me," Alana said quietly, staring down at her knees. Talyrma gave a hacking laugh.

"That's what Serren thought," Talyrma said, referring to Alana's cousin who had been killed at a Hatching. Alana winced.

"I will take the risk, and..."

"And what?" the old woman asked her youngest. There was no time to answer. The life left her eyes, and she never coughed again. Her death was truly announced by Sab's loud keenings as the blue fire-lizard leapt _Between._ He didn't want to be alone.

"Alana! You killed her?" Derk cried, running into the room and gripping the short and bony redhead's shoulders. Alana sighed. Her father had no brain, he merely was very good at running. Even into his sixtieth turn.

"No, Derk. We were talking, then she died," she said absently, leaving the room numbly. She walked out to the main square and sent her own fire-lizard after the blue dragon that had Searched her... or had he Searched the remnants of Serren's influence? Alana shook her head, no, dragons knew.

"Go on, Thamir," Alana egged the little brown on. He arrived at the Weyr, a little note attatched. S'ban and his blue Terath appeared shortly after, Thamir in close pursuit.

"Good, so your mother has let you come?" Alana nodded, she needed to leave fast before Derk came out. It was a quick enough process, and they were at the Weyr. Something was missing.

"Where's Thamir?" she asked frantically, looking around them, not even paying attention to the thrill of the dragon ride. "Oh! He's gone! He's _Between!_"

_He didn't want to come,_ Terath informed S'ban plainly. He peered at Alana curiously as they landed. That couldn't be good news that a fire-lizard did not want to remain with Alana. _There were bad memories._

"I'm sorry, Alana," S'ban said softly, and they landed with a thump. He did not know what losing a fire-lizard felt like, he didn't even know what a bonding felt like. He didn't want to, they seemed unreliable.

"It's fine," Alana said coldly, already numbed to the loss. He decided the loss couldn't have been to horrible, if she had already recovered. Or she was very strong, good for a dragon.

"Alright, let me take you to the Candidate Master," S'ban said, reluctantly letting go of her and removing the rider straps. He tried to help her down, but she had already slipped off the dragon. She looked around, eyes almost greedily happy. She was obviously pleased with the new home.

"Which way?" she asked almost hungrily. Eager.

"Come along," he said, placing his hand back around her waist, sending her towards a cavernous passage. "The Candidate Master will be pleased to have another strong girl for those greens."

Alana nodded eagerly. Her mind went to the sands, where no bronzes or queens were, and only some of each Clutch would Hatch... It had been a long time since there had been any golds or bronzes flying through the skies. Now the largest greens, the best leaders of the female greenriders became weyrwoman. S'ban, meanwhile, was looking at the seventeen turn old girl by his side, and noted that she really was quite short. Too short to be a runner, while he was towering over her at a surprising 6'8".

"Will I see you again, bluerider?" Alana asked as they reached the Weyr Offices. S'ban shrugged.

"Great Cliffs Weyr _is_ rather small," he said, flashing his crooked smile. Alana grinned, and stepped into the Candidate Master's office.

"Candidate Master B'ren?" she asked. The hulking brownrider stood, shaking her hand quickly, then rubbing his eyes. He, Alana noted, was even taller than S'ban, and much less handsom. He gave off a feeling of stupidity, the feeling that so many Smiths gave her. She scowled in contempt as he sat again, gesturing for her to sit as well.

"Aye, lass? Are you S'ban's prodige?" he asked gruffly, running a hand through his oily brown locks.

Alana blinked. She was a prodige? She wasn't, but Alana was unaware of this other girl, "I suppose so, sir."

"Right, so that would make you Ylsara of Kajano?" Alana shook her head, cheeks reddening.

"No sir, I am Alana of the North-Most Runner-Station..." she said softly. Not many people travelled up there.

"Ah, you're the runner-girl, okay," he said. Then looked up from his paperwork again. "Are you sure you're the runner-girk," he asked incredulously as he eyed her short and busty form.

"As sure as I've ever been..." she said quietly.

"Well, you're here just on time. The Clutch is expected to Hatch some time within the next two days," he said. "There are a few rules, and then we'll go over what you missed during the majority of the Lessons."

It wasn't until several hours later, when Alana's mind was sore from all the information, that she and her small bag of belongings were brought to the girls barracks. The other girls had just finished supper, and were talking quite eagerly now. "Did you see Tegraynn? He's so going to Impress a brown!" one girl was saying.

"Who needs a brown when he's got those _eyes_? I'd be happy if he was a greenrider!" said another.

"Well, he wouldn't be talking to us the way he did if that was the case," the first girl said. They paused as Alana entered, chin up, proud of her rank as Candidate.

"Hi, I'm Tria," said the smallest girl. She was shorter than Alana, but also several turns younger. "What's your na-" she paused to spit some wild black locks out of her hair. "Name?"

"Alana," the redhead responded, finding an empty bunk and sitting crosslegged on it. "I just arrived today from the Northern Runner-Station."

"Ooh, that must mean S'ban Searched you," another girl, who Alana later learned was named Kellena. "He Searched me as well. He's the youngest Searchrider, only nineteen." Alana nodded, recalling how nice it felt to have his arms around her waist. She winced inwardly when she also remembered how her fire-lizard Thamir had gotten lost _Between._

"He's very kind," Alana said quietly.

* * *

One, two, three days passed, and people grew concerned. Would Riath's Clutch Hatch, Klira wondered worriedly. G'del stayed by her side as she angsted over the Weyr's second largest green. It was during one of these worry-sessions that Riath began to hum. Klira hardly noticed it, then the energy filtered it's way throughout the Weyr. Every green, blue, and brown, had arrived, bringing Candidates in, or letting them walk in on their own. Alana was one of the first eager girls onto the sands, each of them standing by the smaller eggs. The first dragon hatched, and the handsom brown found his way to Tegraynn. One of the girls nudged Alana, "See, I told you," she said excitedly as she applauded the first Impression. It was good luck for a brown to Hatch first. It meant the clutch would be strong.

Alana was near tears when the last two eggs remained. Tria had Impressed the largest green on the sands so far, nearly as large as T'graynn's brown, and Kellena was pleased with her blue dragon. Now only Alana and four boys remained. She fidgeted nervously, rubbing her eyes to prevent tears.

_Please choose me,_ she thought. _I can't go back to Derk and that runner-station..._ It was as though her prayers were heard as the last two dragonets hatched. The tiny green that had Hatched crashed into her as the blue went directly to Meru-M'rul. Alana paused as Avenuth's mind melted into hers. How did she know the green's name? Oh, it didn't matter, Avenuth was very hungry, and very tired, and so very small... Alana was blinded by love for that little while.

"My beautiful, _perfect_ Avenuth..."


End file.
